The University of California system announced a hiring freeze as a result of budget cuts. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
The University of California announced Wednesday a systemwide hiring freeze in response to a number of executive orders and policy changes from the Trump Administration that the UC system says are threatening their funding.
UC President Michael V. Drake announced the decision to implement the freeze as an effort to manage costs and conserve funds as the school faces funding reductions at both the state and federal levels.
"Over the last few months, the new administration in Washington, D.C., has announced a number of executive orders and proposed policy changes, including ones that threaten funding for lifesaving research, patient care and education support. These actions affect colleges and universities across the country. Additionally, the 2025-26 California state budget calls for a substantial cut to the University’s budget," wrote Drake.
All UC locations, including the Office of the President, were asked to develop financial strategies and workforce management plans ahead of any potential funding deficits.
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The UC president added that he's also directed all UC locations to implement "cost-saving measures" and delay certain expenses. The plans for these efforts will vary on location, according to Drake.
The hiring freeze comes just weeks after the Department of Justice launched an investigation into the UC system.
“The investigation will assess whether UC has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against its professors, staff and other employees by allowing an Antisemitic hostile work environment to exist on its campuses,” the DOJ said in a press release.
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The investigation reflects a broader Trump Administration crackdown on some of America’s most elite universities.
In January, President Trump signed an executive order outlining “additional measures to combat antisemitism.” On Feb. 28, the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said investigators would be visiting 10 schools, including USC and UCLA, to determine “whether remedial action is warranted.”
In a social media post on March 4, President Trump threatened to cut off federal funding for any college that permits what he called “illegal protests” and threatened to deport foreign students on visas.
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression denounced that proposal as “deeply chilling.”
“As FIRE knows too well from our work defending student and faculty rights under the Obama and Biden administrations, threatening schools with the loss of federal funding will result in a crackdown on lawful speech,” the free speech group said.
More than 250,000 people work for the UC system, representing California’s third-largest employer, according to a 2023 accountability report. The ten campuses stretch across Los Angeles, Riverside, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, San Francisco, Davis and Merced.
